ELON Musk said on Tuesday (Jul 16) that he is moving the headquarters of two of his companies – social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX – to Texas from California, citing a new gender-identity law there as the “last straw”.
With these moves, the billionaire, who recently endorsed Donald Trump for US president, will have relocated most of the businesses he controls to Texas.
He transferred SpaceX’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas earlier this year. This followed a Delaware judge’s decision invalidating Musk’s US$56-billion compensation plan at electric vehicle maker Tesla, where he is the largest shareholder and CEO.
In 2021, Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas as well but said last year that California would remain its engineering hub.
A new California law that forbids school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents when a child changes gender identity or sexual orientation was one reason for Tuesday’s announcement.
“Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies,” Musk said in explaining the decision in posts on X – formerly Twitter which he bought in 2022. He described the law as the “last straw”.
SpaceX has a sprawling headquarters just outside Los Angeles where employees build and test rocket engine components, spacecraft and satellites. REUTERS
